Quick-opening tank truck plug



lg 30, 1936. G. H. cLAY 2,045,334

QUICK OPENING 'TANK TRUCK PLUG Filed April 21, 1954 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Lil

Patented June 30, 1936 UNITED STATES A'l-ENT This invention relates to quick-opening tank truck plugs or covers, and has for one of its objects to produce a closure member for tanks, but which is particularly adapted for the filling openings in truck tanks or the like used for the storage or transportation of volatile liquids.

Another object of the invention is to produce a closure of the type mentioned which is adapted to be unseated to relieve pressure within the tank if pressure should be developed therein sufiicient to overcome the yielding pressure with which the closure is seated.

A further object of the invention is to produce a closure of the character set forth in which the closure and clamping members have limited movement independently of each other so that the former can always seat squarely to seal the filling opening, regardless of irregularities in the seat or in the direction of the clamping force with regard to the plane of the valve seat.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a strong, durable, efficient and inexpeniive mechanism of the character set forth; and

order that it may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which: I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a tank, provided with an expansion chamber, dome or filling neck equipped with a quick-opening plug or coverembodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, with the closure thrown to open position.

Figure 3 is an enlarged central vertical section through the parts as they will appear during a pressure relieving operation.

Figure 4 is a fragmental section through the parts to more clearly illustrate one method of securing a clamping pin forming a part of the present embodiment of the invention.

In the said drawing, where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all of the figures, l is a tank, 2 is a filling neck or dome, which is preferably provided with a raised bead 3 to forma'valve seat 4 surrounding the filling opening. The filling opening may be provided, as shown, with a down-turned flange 5.

Adapted to fit within the flange 5 is a clamping member 6, provided with a series of cam grooves 1 to receive locking pins 8 inwardly projecting from the face of the flange 5. The pins 8 may be secured in position by welding them as at 9 (Figure 4) to the inner face of the dome. The clamping member 6 is of such diameter as to fit loosely within the neck 5 so that it does not and the clamping member are held yieldingly to 10 gether as regards telescoping movement, as will hereinafter appear, but are held against independent rotation loy means of three bolts M depending from the inner face of the cover Ill and extending through openings in horizontal flange I5 formedon the clamping member 6, the lower ends of said bolts being headed and expansion springs it being interposed between said heads and the under side of thefiange l5. It is alsoto be noted that the telescoping of the two parts is very loose so that if the clamping member 6 7 should apply strain at other than rightangles to the plane of the valve seat 4, one orm'o're of. the'springs IE will yield to permit the cover I!) to properly seal the tank against leakage.

7 With the construction as described, it will be" apparent that rotation imparted through the handles it will lock or unlock the cooperating cam clamping mechanism 7 and 8, rotation of the cap I ll being imparted to the clamping member 6 through the three bolts M." It will also be evident that the cap it will fit on the valve seat 4 under the pressure of the springs l6, and that if sufiicient internal pressure is built up within the tank, the closure will open as shown in Figure 3 to relieve such pressure, and will then reseat under the force of said expansion springs I6.

As a vacuous condition sometimes is created within tanks of volatile liquids, the cap It is provided with a tapped opening ll receiving a threaded stem N3 of a vacuum release mechanism It. This mechanism is not detailed or otherwise referred to as it forms no part of the present invention and may be of any desired or approved character.

In tank trucks and the like in particular, means must be provided for locking the filling plug against unauthorized opening and to prevent mislaying or loss of the filling plug as a whole. To accomplish this object, an arm 2e is pivoted on an ear 2! carried by the filling neck or tank, and the end of said arm has an opening receiving the threaded stem E8 of the valve structure I9. The arm is not tightly clamped between the face of the closure and the valve mechanism l9 as such an arrangement might interfere with the proper clamping of the cover on its seat. However, to hold the parts against rattling, a spring 22 is inserted between the upper face of the arm and the vacuum relief valve l9. With this construction it is apparent that the plug bears a swivelled relation to the tank and may be readily rotated so that it can be unlocked and then swung to open position for filling or inspection. To lock the plug against unauthorized opening, its upper face is provided with an upstanding ear 23 which comes into abutting relation with a companion ear 24 on the arm 20, when the parts are in closed position, and said ears are formed with registering openings 25 for receiving a padlock or the like.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a construction embodying all of the features of advantage set forth as desirable, and while I have described the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to make all changes within the spirit of the invention and without the ambit of the prior art.

I claim:-

1. In a tank closure, a tank having a filling opening, a depending neck and an upwardlyfacing bearing around said opening and three equi-distarit pins projecting from the neck into said opening, a dome-shaped cover having a central threaded opening, a peripheral bearing for facing downwardly over the first-named bearing, a circular flange for depending into the filling opening, and three equi-spaced pins for depending from the cover into the filling opening, a circular clamp-member fitting into the cover for telescopic movement relative thereto and for fitting loosely and rotatably within the filling opening and also fitting telescopically upon said depending pins, springs upon said depending pins and exerting force upon the said pins and the clamp member for resisting separating telescopic movement of the cover and clamp-member, cooperating means on the tank and clamp-member for drawing or repressing the latter and the cover, toward or from the tank respectively when the cover is rotated in one direction or the other, the connection between the cover and clamp-member and the tank permitting of slight tilting movement of the cover relative to the clamp-member,

a gasket between the said bearing faces, a valve having a stem threaded in the opening of the cover, an arm hinged to the tank and fitting between the cover and valve and loosely around the valve stem, and a spring for exerting yielding force in opposite directions on the valve and arm and tending to hold the cover and adjacent end of said arm in contact and in parallelism.

2. In a tank closure, a tank having a filling opening, a depending neck and an upwardlyfacing bearing around said opening and three equi-distant pins projecting from the neck into said opening, a dome-shaped cover having a central threaded opening, a peripheral bearing for facing downwardly over the first-named bearing, a circular flange for depending into the filling opening, and three equi-spaced pins for depending from the cover into the filling opening, a circular clamp-member fitting into the cover for telescopic movement relative thereto and for fitting loosely and rotatably within the filling opening and also-fitting telescopically upon said depending pins, springs upon said depending pins and exerting force upon the said pins and clampmember for resisting separating telescopic movement of the cover and clamp-member, coacting cam connections between the wall of the filling opening and the clamp-member responsive to rotation of the latter. in one direction or the other to respectively draw it and the cover toward or repress them from the tank, a gasket between the said bearing faces, a valve having a stem threaded in the opening of the cover, an arm hinged to the tank and fitting between the cover and valve and loosely around the valve stem, and a spring for exerting yielding force in opposite directions on the valve and arm and tending to hold the cover and adjacent end of said arm in contact and in parallelism.

3. In a tank closure, atank having a filling opening, a cover for such opening, a valve hav-- ing a threaded stem secured to the top of the cover, an arm hinged to the tank and fitting loosely around said stem between the valve and cover, and means around the stem and exerting yielding force in opposite directions on the arm and valve and tending to hold the contacting surfaces of the former and cover in parallelism.

, GEORGE H. CLAY. 

